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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 201. Service and charges
(a) It shall be the duty of every common carrier engaged in
interstate or foreign communication by wire or radio to furnish
such communication service upon reasonable request therefor; and,
in accordance with the orders of the Commission, in cases where the
Commission, after opportunity for hearing, finds such action
necessary or desirable in the public interest, to establish
physical connections with other carriers, to establish through
routes and charges applicable thereto and the divisions of such
charges, and to establish and provide facilities and regulations
for operating such through routes.
(b) All charges, practices, classifications, and regulations for
and in connection with such communication service, shall be just
and reasonable, and any such charge, practice, classification, or
regulation that is unjust or unreasonable is declared to be
unlawful: Provided, That communications by wire or radio subject to
this chapter may be classified into day, night, repeated,
unrepeated, letter, commercial, press, Government, and such other
classes as the Commission may decide to be just and reasonable, and
different charges may be made for the different classes of
communications: Provided further, That nothing in this chapter or
in any other provision of law shall be construed to prevent a
common carrier subject to this chapter from entering into or
operating under any contract with any common carrier not subject to
this chapter, for the exchange of their services, if the Commission
is of the opinion that such contract is not contrary to the public
interest: Provided further, That nothing in this chapter or in any
other provision of law shall prevent a common carrier subject to
this chapter from furnishing reports of positions of ships at sea
to newspapers of general circulation, either at a nominal charge or
without charge, provided the name of such common carrier is
displayed along with such ship position reports. The Commission may
prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary in the
public interest to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
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